1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to methods of making glass fibre reinforced cement composite materials, and materials made by such methods.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is known to make glass fibre reinforced cement composite materials by mixing chopped strands of glass filaments (produced by chopping continuous strands or rovings of the glass filaments to lengths of approximately 25 mm) with water, cement, and any other necessary additives using a mechanical mixing apparatus, e.g. of the paddle type, and then to pour the resultant slurry of cement and glass fibres into a mould in which it is allowed to cure. Problems have been encountered in that excessive mixing can cause damage to the glass fibres, particularly by causing "filamentisation", i.e. the separation of the strands into individual filaments. If the mixing is carried out so as to avoid damage to the fibres, the slurry has been found in some cases to be difficult to work, so that difficulty has been encountered in filling complicated moulds. This problem has persisted even though the glass fibre is only added to the cement/water mix after an initial period of mixing of the cement and water.